I can see a time when people become so reliant on their technology that they lose the ability to think. There will still be innovators who improve technology, but even that will be within the confines of the technology they are improving. The majority of humanity will use devices and systems to wake them, plot their courses through daily activities, entertain them, befriend them, and calculate their next move. Dormant will be those who cannot get a signal. Loneliness and detachment will consume the off-liners. A subclass of unconnected will live third world conditions. Even the connected will feel the disparity of the disconnect when their batteries run down or a sun flare interrupts wireless service.
The employed will be slaves to work on demand, sudden cancelations, and ratings fraud. “Just in time” inventory practices applied to human labor. Humanity spending most of the day in idleness. Too stressed for the want of the next gig to devote time to educational pursuits.
But maybe there is a positive side to it all. Maybe the “just in time” thing will be a benefit. Maybe the variety of human interaction will satisfy the individual and credit that human need for contribution enough to carry forward to the next experience. Maybe the world, with more people interacting more often with more people, will become smaller. Maybe the world will become a community of focused effort.
Comments